Tuesday, July 30, 2013

This is probably the best and the worst time to be a consumer in the market. Best because of the huge strides made in the field of nanotechnology, making way for both amazingly fast and powerful machines, and some real good looking ones at that too. All this without lightening your wallet by too much. With so many options out there, with little or nothing to choose between them, choosing one is almost as good as preparing to take your SATs all over again. With all-in-one PCs ruling the market, here's a short list of the top personal computers available, based on their popularity, along with their brief feature list and other aspects, to help you pick the ideal one for yourself.

1. Apple iMac (27 inches)

Right at the top of the chart is the Apple iMac which pioneered the change in the very way we perceived computers, transforming them from huge bulky ugly things to almost an ornamental piece of envy in every home. Their latest offering, the new 27" iMac, is powered by the next generation Intel Core i5 processor (3.1 GHz), with the options to choose among 4 or 16GB of RAM. It comes with 1TB storage to easily save away tons of images, videos, games, documents, and still have room for loads more. HD games and movies run like a dream, thanks to the 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card ticking away inside. It also runs the latest apple OS, MAC OS X 10.7 Lion. It comes with the standard Apple USB and FireWire ports, along with their super fast proprietary Thunderbolt ports. With a price tag of $1,999 on the Apple Store webpage, this one is for serious gamers and people into high-end designing.

Pros - With a stunning 27" display and a very impressive tech sheet, this beast packs quite a punch.

Cons - A very high price tag, and the feature set makes it almost an overkill for standard users.

Price Range - $1,900 - $2,000

2. HP TouchSmart 9300 Elite

HP is a brand one tends to associate with quality products and on the forefront of new innovative technology. They haven't disappointed with their latest offering, the HP TouchSmart 9300 Elite. Powered by the second generation Intel processors, it is available in the i3, i5 and i7 variants, as per the user requirement. You could also opt for the blazing fast 3.4GHz version of the same, which is amongst the best offered in its class, complemented by the huge 8GB of RAM which it comes with. It has a reasonably sized 23" screen, which has a very impressive display with a maximum resolution of 1920 1080 pixels, making it Full HD. Graphics and images look crisp and run smooth with the 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 425M graphics card on board. There's plenty of storage space available on the 1TB hard drive that it comes with. It is a high-end computer targeted mainly at businesses and hardcore gamers. Running on a 64-bit version (to make full use of the RAM available) of Windows 7 Professional, it is available for about $1,400.

Pros - Fantastic display. - One of the fastest processors available. - Very good design and construction. - Cheaper than other all-in-ones offering similar of lesser features. - Good customer after-sales service.

Cons - Is a very heavy unit. - Is aimed mainly at corporates and high-end users. - Is still pricey for a standard customer.

Price Range - $950 - $2,300

3. Acer All-in-One Z5

Acer has taken the computer industry by storm, offering really nice products at very reasonable rates. The new Acer All-in-One Z5 takes this USP of the company forward with good features and smart pricing. It comes with a standard screen of 23 inches, and is powered by an Intel i5-650 processor clocking at 3.2GHz, and the graphics are supported by a powerful Intel HD Graphics with 1.7GB of video RAM. All the operations are supported by the 4GB RAM provided, and it comes with a very generous 1.5TB of storage space. It ships with a wireless keyboard and mouse as part of the standard package. Priced at around $1000, this is quite a steal.

Pros - Loads of video RAM to run heavy graphics smoothly. - More than generous storage space. - Ships with a wireless keyboard and mouse. - Very smart pricing.

Cons - Has only 2 USB ports. - Comes with a dual core i5 processor.

Price Range - $1,000 - $1,050

4. Samsung Series 7 All-in-One

Samsung, best known for its computer screens and mobile technology, ventures into the already crowded all-in-one PC domain with the model Series 7 All-in-One. The beautiful screen is a clear give-away of what is definitely one of the strengths of Samsung, the display. It can best be described as a piece of art and looks beautiful even when it's switched off, so much so that one can almost forgive the lack of processing power on board. It packs a 2.7GHz Intel Core i5-2390T as compared to the competition, which has processors clocking up to 3.4GHz. With just a 64MB Intel HD Graphics 1000, it is definitely not for the gamers out there, but then again, this PC is targeted at the general public, and has a price tag of $1,200 to justify it. 1TB makes sure that you aren't going to be short of storage space for all your data, in a hurry.

With the all-in-one PC race heating up, Lenovo were not the ones to be left behind. Their latest offering, the IdeaCenter B520, boasts of some more than decent specs, but its real USP is its 3D viewing capability. The PC runs on a 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-2600 processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM for fast process, and an almost over-the-top 2TB storage space for all the 3D content. The 23" Full HD screen has a maximum resolution of 1920 1080 pixels, which displays 3D content on demand, thanks to its 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card supporting Nvidia's 3D vision technology. All in all, it's a great computer for just above average users, but would not be ideal for hardcore gamers. Priced at $1,200, it is a decent buy for someone looking to have a taste of 3D, and not wanting to spend upwards of $2,400 for the same.

Cons - The 3D viewing setup is complicated for first-time users. - Not for hardcore gamers.

Price Range - $1,000 - $1,200

6. Viewsonic VPC191 All-in-One

Viewsonic, till now, has been known for its monitors and desktop PCs. Making its entry into the race for the company is VPC 191 All-in-One. This is more of a budget PC really, with a less-than-spectacular spec sheet. Powered by a single core Intel Atom N270 processor at 1.6GHz, it has a smallish 18.5" display, a 160GB hard drive, and 1GB RAM. If you overlook the spec sheet, the monitor itself is very eye-catchy and remarkably thin. The same cannot however be said about its peripherals, which come across as rather cheap and leaves a lot to be desired. With a price tag of around $600, this is a very simple and minimalistic computer in terms of its specs.

Cons - The peripherals look very ordinary and substandard. - Very basic computer, not for gamers or even average users with large storage needs.

Price Range - $575 - $600

Note: Prices are approximate and vary as per location and offers available.

These are some of the top ranking computers out there at different price points and with a very varied feature set. The smartest way to go about it would be to know what your own requirement is, and choose accordingly. Happy hunting then!

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